Some Radio 4 comedy is both funny, clever and surprising. It's not all predictable anti-Brexit jokes and political correctness.
Unless you're one of those people who can't stand Stephen Fry under any circumstances, I bet most of you would very much enjoy Some Hay in Manager (broadcast on Boxing Day and yesterday) for example. There wasn't a Trump joke in sight, and there were distant shades of CS Lewis's Screwtape too. It was charming.
I heard the final episode of that festive delight last night and then went straight on to a Christmas edition of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, which wasn't bad either (I laughed occasionally) but, alas, it wasn't in the same league at all.
Its running joke was about turkeys voting for Christmas, and giving their silly reasons for voting for Christmas - all of which sounded uncannily like those given by Leave voters in BBC interviews.
Ah yes, it was just another bit of wholly one-sided BBC Brexit-bashing!
Ah yes, it was just another bit of wholly one-sided BBC Brexit-bashing!
Of course, that could just me being one of those green ink internet types with no sense of humour who rages against BBC comedies for being too PC.
And those were pretty much the very words used by John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme to describe the kind of people who object to programmes like this mocking Christian belief but failing to mock Muslim belief - i.e. having a complete double standard when it comes to Islam.
And those were pretty much the very words used by John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme to describe the kind of people who object to programmes like this mocking Christian belief but failing to mock Muslim belief - i.e. having a complete double standard when it comes to Islam.
For, lo!, yes, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme did tackle that double standard last night by asking why they weren't also mocking Ramadan.
And their answer, essentially, was because it's the right thing to do not to mock Islamic belief.
Yes, it's a double standard but it's a good double standard. It just is.
And those nasty green ink internet types with no sense of humour who rage against BBC comedies for being too PC are just that: nasty green ink internet types with no sense of humour who rage against BBC comedies for being too PC and for not being mean enough to Muslims.
So the BBC is right to call in "all its lawyers" at the first sign of a programme embarking on an Islam-mocking joke.
And their answer, essentially, was because it's the right thing to do not to mock Islamic belief.
Yes, it's a double standard but it's a good double standard. It just is.
And those nasty green ink internet types with no sense of humour who rage against BBC comedies for being too PC are just that: nasty green ink internet types with no sense of humour who rage against BBC comedies for being too PC and for not being mean enough to Muslims.
So the BBC is right to call in "all its lawyers" at the first sign of a programme embarking on an Islam-mocking joke.
So there you go! They aren't doing it because they fear a violent reaction (a possibility or likelihood not mentioned). They are doing it because it's the right (BBC) thing to do. Simple as that!
